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The Scriptorium

An Inheritance for Caleb

Caleb resurfaces, faithful and fit as ever.

Joshua 14-17 (1)

Read Joshua 14.1-15.

Reflect.
1.  Chapters 14-17 detail the allotments to Judah and the sons of Joseph, west of the Jordan River. It is the longest and most detailed part of this section of the book. Any thoughts about why that might be so?

2.  Two different sub-sections of this part deal with Caleb, demonstrating his primacy and faithfulness. Why?

Think about it.
Chapters 14-17 lay the foundation for an historic animosity, which will eventually rend the nation of Israel in two. Great detail is provided in describing the allotments to the tribes of Judah and Ephraim/half-Manasseh. They are the most powerful tribes in Israel, and they will be in perpetual competition with one another.

Part of the reason for this is that God chose the tribe of Judah – Caleb’s tribe (Num. 13.6) – to be the line from which kings would descend, and not the tribe of Ephraim (Ps. 78.67, 68) – Joshua’s tribe (Num. 13.8). And even though this had been prophesied from of old (Gen. 49.8-11), the sons of Joseph never quite reconciled to this decision, especially in view of Joshua’s role in the conquest of Canaan. At the first opportunity, Ephraim hived off ten tribes to form their own nation (1 Kgs. 11, 12). 

But even this was an act of God, Who judged His people for the sins of Solomon, and promised blessings to those who followed Jeroboam into the northern kingdom, if they would obey Him. They never did.

The land was divided by lot on the west side of the Jordan, which doesn’t mean that parcels were assigned willy-nilly. It simply means that the order in which the lands were assigned – the borders of which were determined according to the size and other characteristics of each tribe – was random, by the casting of lots.

But we can see the work of God in this, since even the casting of lots is according to His sovereign good pleasure (Prov. 16.33).

Perhaps as a kind of foreshadowing of the ascent of Judah, Caleb comes into focus in chapter 14. We see him both as the man who has beenfaithful (vv. 6-15) and as the faithful warrior, carrying on the conquest of the lands given to him (15.13-19). He is thus a reminder of, and spur for, continued covenant obedience for all the children of Israel.

Once again, the Levites are to be scattered throughout the lands and cities of all the tribes.

Meditate and discuss.
1.  What was the inheritance of the Levites? What does that mean? Was God using their widespread dissemination throughout the land to remind His people of their true and ultimate inheritance? 

2.  We recall that Joshua and Caleb, many years earlier, had been the only two faithful spies urging Israel to take up the conquest of Canaan (Num. 13, 14). In that context, Caleb is the more prominent of the two. Why do you suppose God chose Joshua to lead Israel, rather than Caleb? Why is He bringing Caleb back to prominence here again?

3.  What is your impression of Caleb from these verses? Why do you suppose the writer felt it necessary to include Caleb’s reminiscences in verses 6-12? What significance should we attach to the fact of Joshua’s blessing Caleb (v. 13)?

“And so, let us see who it is who first receives the inheritance from Jesus [Joshua]: ‘Caleb,’ it says, ‘the son of Jephunneh.’ For he requests first with certain fixed reasons and words that are described, words that are also able to instruct us for salvation. First of all, Caleb is interpreted ‘as a heart.’ Who, therefore, is ‘as a heart’ if not the one who in all things has devoted effort to discernment, who is not said to be just any member of the body of the church but that one that is the more admirable in us, the heart? That is, he is the one who bears all things with reason and prudence and so arranges all things as if being none other than the heart.” Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

Lord, let my heart be like the heart of Caleb, and lead me today to…

Pray Psalm 78.65-72

Use these verses to seek the Lord for revival, that He might raise up leaders to follow Jesus and build the Lord’s house and shepherd His people with integrity of heart.

Psalm 78.65-72 (Foundation: How Firm a Foundation)
While they were still suff’ring, God rose in His strength 
And fought for His people and saved them at length.
From Judah a king He set for Israel, 
A temple He built with His people to dwell. 

Now Jesus, God’s servant, is King evermore, 
And we are His people, and He is our Lord. 
His heart is upright as He leads by His hand 
And causes us ever before Him to stand.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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